Fallen Angel
by samika-37
Summary: "Nothing's wrong!"she protested."Ryuzaki, I know you. Of course something's wrong, and it's ok to let people know what you're feeling inside," he silently replied. Sakuno looked up to face him. "Come here," he said as he wrapped her into his arms tightly.
1. Summary

I just suddenly had this crazy idea of Sakuno hating tennis because of her parents' death and then Ryoma helping her 'mend her broken wing'...and because Ryoma was just a little too smart with all the fluent English and tennis skills, I made Sakuno into a piano prodigy. I'm going to be uploading a character introduction the next time I update this story (if I even do continue it...that is) so you guys have an idea of how the characters all work in my version of PoT. Please review to tell me what you think about this story. There's a poll on my profile "Should I continue 'Fallen Angel' so please vote!

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS!**

* * *

Ryuzaki Sakuno is a very cheerful and supporting girl, who's always wearing a smile…but that's just all the outside stuff. On the inside, she's an angel with a broken wing. Her parents died when she was very young…but what does that have to do with her hatred towards tennis? And why is she always playing sad songs and only playing happy songs when absolutely necessary? No one knows except her tennis coaching grandma. Can our famous prince of tennis, Echizen Ryoma gain her trust to help and mend her broken wing? Read to find out. This is sort of a rewritten version of Prince of Tennis in my style.

* * *

Echizen Ryoma

Date of birth: December 24

School year: 1st year in Seigaku

Echizen Ryoma aka Prince of Tennis came back from America to study in Japan and to also improve his tennis skills under the coaching of Ryuzaki Sumire. He has a great passion towards tennis and is completely devoted towards it. Later, he soon realizes that all along, he's been playing in his father's shadows. He then finds his own way of playing in tennis which leads him into becoming a better tennis player.

When he first came back to Japan to try out for the tennis team of Seigaku, he saved Sakuno from some bullies who were about to it her unknown. Although Sakuno did not directly say thank you, she offered to give him a taxi ride to Kaginogizaka Tennis Garden since she was also going there to meet up with her grandma. During the ride, Ryoma learns that she is the granddaughter of his possible future tennis coach, Ryuzaki Sumire.

Along the story, the friendship between Ryoma and Sakuno grows stronger, leading to Ryoma finding out why Sakuno hates tennis so much. He gains her trust and finally, he helps her realize that hating tennis can't bring back her parents. In a way, Ryoma seems to be even a closer friend to Sakuno rather than Tomoka. He enjoys listening to Sakuno playing the piano as it helps him relax. He's also kept every tennis ball Sakuno gave him.

As Ryoma and Sakuno get closer and closer to each other, he starts to realize that he has strong feelings towards her. He gets jealous easily when he sees other boys trying to get close to Sakuno and is sometimes even overprotective of her. He always looks forward to her in coming to cheer him on tennis matches and the lunches she occasionally cooks for him. However, due to him devotion towards tennis and Sakuno's devotion towards playing the piano, they keep a steady friendship; with only one more step to becoming a couple.

Since Ryoma was born near the end of the year, he was put into the class one year lower than him (Sakuno's grade) to make it easier for him to study. Although he was offered to go up a grade again, he refused since he had already made many friends.

Although Ryoma has an arrogant nature, he softens when it comes towards his family, his cat and Sakuno. He also seems to enjoy drinking Ponta a lot.

Ryuzaki Sakuno

Date of birth: January 14

School year: 1st year in Seigaku

Ryuzaki Sakuno is a piano prodigy. She has a great passion toward the piano and is completely devoted to it, as much as Ryoma to tennis. However, she used to only play sad songs; unless it was absolutely necessary like a request from her grandma or teacher would she play happy songs. Sakuno describes the piano as 'someone' who understands her fully and 'someone' whom she is able to let all her emotions out.

Although she is constantly seen with a smile on her face, her real emotions are dark and cold. She hates tennis since it was because her parents died in a fire trying to save the tennis court and the things inside of it when she was 2. She bought the tennis court to herself and left it the way it was since she said she could feel the presence of her mom and dad. She used to go there alone when she needed to think or play the piano with no one watching (she bought a piano and put it under the stands…weird, huh? ^_-). Later on, she showed Ryoma the tennis court.

Sakuno's parents enjoyed playing tennis a lot and even found a way of life in tennis. Sakuno's father was a master in making tennis bats while Sakuno's mother painted special designs onto them. Because Sakuno's mother had very long hair, Sakuno keeps her hair at a very long length as well. Later, through the help of Ryoma, Sakuno saw tennis through the eyes of her parents. It is seen that she is also talented in tennis as well, since she was able to beat Horio in her first match.

Sakuno is very supportive of Ryoma in playing tennis matches. Whenever free, she watches him practice and occasionally cooks lunches for him to eat. She is fully aware of her feelings towards Ryoma but refuses to tell him partly because of her shy nature and because she knows that Ryoma is completed devoted to tennis and won't let anything stop him. When Tomoka asked her "Why not just give it a try?" she answered that she knew how Ryoma feels since she is also very devoted to the piano. She doesn't know that Ryoma also feels the same, so she remains as his best friend and tries to help him out whenever she can. To show that she'll always be rooting him wherever he is, she writes or draws supportive things on tennis balls and gives it to him.

Shusuke Fuji

Date of birth: February 29th

School year: 3rd year in Seigaku

Shusuke Fuji aka 'the genius' or 'tensai' is a very calm person and doesn't play tennis seriously unless he has to. He is seen as both a love rival and advisor to Ryoma since he also liked Sakuno but decided that she would be better off with Ryoma. He's also extremely of Sakuno and 'scares' people when they try to hurt her or so.

Fuji was born on February 29th, making him a leap year baby. He is seen as a cheerful and supporting person and tries to help solve problems. He is also an extremely good friend of Eiji and one of the few rare people to get close to Tezuka, the team captain.

At the beginning, Fuji was the closest member of the tennis team to Sakuno. He had tried many times to ask Sakuno to come watch him play tennis but she always politely rejected. Despite the fact that he's known Sakuno for a very long time, he doesn't know why she hates tennis. He started to envy Ryoma since Sakuno later started to come watch him practice and cheer for him. However, after finding out the reason why Sakuno fell in love with him, he gave up the thoughts about being with Sakuno. Instead, he started helping Ryoma and Sakuno the get together, only to fail every time.


	2. Unexpected Meeting

**I DON'T OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS**

* * *

"Meow…"

"Ugh! Karupin, I've told you many times to never lick my eyelids!" groaned the 12-year old Echizen Ryoma. He rubbed his eyes and slowly and slowly sat up on bed. He looked tiredly out of his window.

"Ready or not, Seigaku. Here. I. Come." He said. Karupin was crawling up to him from behind and was about to play with his hair when –

"MEOW!" Karupin shrieked. Ryoma looked at the amusing sight of his cat trying to reach for his hair while being held far away in his hands.

"Mada mada dane, Karupin," Ryoma said as he grinned and nuzzled the cat's nose with his own. He laid the cat on his lap and started stroking it.

"I have a feeling…that today's going to be a great day. Don't you think so, Karupin?" Ryoma asked. Karupin purred and licked Ryoma's free hand. Ryoma chuckled

"Yea…I just knew you'd do that," Ryoma said as he continued stroking the soft fur of Karupin.

* * *

_"Otou-san! Okaa-san!" cried the four-year old Ryuzaki Sakuno. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she tried to break through the grasp of her grandmothers, Ryuzaki Sumire._

_"Obaa-chan! Let go of me! I need to go stop otou-san and okaa-san!" screamed Sakuno. She shoved, she kicked, she squiggled…she did everything she could to breakaway. But the tennis coach was far too strong for her._

_"Otou-san! Okaa-san! Come back!" Sakuno just kept shrieking and screaming. Moments later, the firefighters and ambulance arrived…but they were too late._

_"Otou-san! Okaa-san!" Sakuno screamed as she ran towards her parents, who were 'sleeping' on the floor._

_"Otou-san! Okaa-san! Ne, why are you guys sleeping? You promised to play tennis with me! You promised to buy ice-cream for me! But why? Why did you go back to the tennis court which was on fire to save TENNIS RACKETS? **WHY?**" Sakuno was out of control. She kept crying and crying and violently laid her head onto her mother's stomach and gripped her father's hand even more tightly. From the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar firefighter talking with her grandmother._

_"I'm sorry Sumire-san. We did all we could…but we were a tad late…" the firefighter said. He was in distress. Sakuno's father had been a good friend of his and had helped him many times but now, he had filed to save his life._

_"It's alright, Kohaku…you did all you could. I'm just not sure how Sakuno's going to take this…" Sumire replied softly. Kohaku slowly raised his hands and put a beautiful and unharmed tennis racket into her _hand.

_"We found this in Rima's hands…" Kohaku said. Sumire looked at the racket amazingly. She immediately recognized as a work of her son and daughter-in-law. _

_"Saito and Rima made it for Sakuno…see? Her name's painted here," Sumire pointed to the handle of the tennis racket._

_"Then that makes the tennis racket the murderer," Sakuno said._

_"Huh?" Sumire asked. She hadn't noticed her granddaughter had walked beside her._

_"It's because of the tennis racket that otou-san and okaa-san are dead! I HATE TENNIS! IT CAUSED THE DEATH OF MY PARENTS!" Sakuno screamed. Then she took off towards the woods. _

_"Otou-san! Okaa-san? Why?" she continued screaming._

Sakuno's eyes shout open. She was breathing heavily and sweating. She sighed loudly and looked at the picture of her mom and dad.

"Just another 'flash-back-dream', huh?" she said as she off of bed to get ready and meet up with her grandma.

* * *

_Japan's so much more peaceful than the States… _Ryoma thought as he walked towards the train station.

"Hey you! Watch where you're going!" shouted a guy. A girl with very long brown hair put into braids, whom the guy was shouting at turned around. She walked back towards the guy with a smile on her face.

"I already said sorry, so what more do you want?" she asked with a somewhat threatening tone in her voice. People around them were all staring. She leaned against the wall behind her, still smiling. The guy snickered.

"Well, considering you being such a beauty…I'll give you a discount: suit my needs…" he said in a seductive voice. To his surprise, the girl just laughed. Then she leaned her face even closer to the guy's face.

"Why don't you say that loud enough so that the whole train station can hear you?" she asked, still smiling. The guy grinned while many people around them let out gasps.

"You like to play with fire a lot, Sakuno. But even you'll get burned when my shirt is taken off…" he said. Sakuno wasn't surprised that he knew her name. Ever since grade five, many guys had been trying to seduce her. She had no idea why though.

"Is that ALL you've got to make me go on bed with you?" Sakuno asked. Again, the guy snickered.

"Nope," he said as took out his tennis racket and pointed it towards Sakuno.

"Don't you just love hot guys who play tennis? I could give you free lessons if you want…first of all, this is called the Western grip," he said as he took Sakuno's hand to wrap it around the handle and wrap his own around hers. Before Sakuno could even answer, another voice budged in.

"Whether she likes or dislike hot guys who play tennis, you certainly are a piece of tennis junk," the uninvited visitor said. The guy turned around to face a boy around Sakuno's age. His eyes narrowed. The visitor continued on as if he hadn't noticed the daggers he was receiving from the guy who was trying to court Sakuno.

"The way you're holding the racket right now is called the Eastern grip. The other way you hold the racket is called the Western grip. Don't be ashamed. Many people get mixed up." The guy's eyes narrowed even more as he started to lose his temper. Boy, was he pissed.

"Why you –"he started as he was about the walk towards the visitor but got stopped by Sakuno's dangerous voice and amazingly, strong grasp on his wrist.

"Considering that you know who my grandmother is, you better stop right now or you won't be able to participate in the tryouts!" Sakuno said. The guy just stared at Sakuno and then let go of her hand at which Sakuno also released his wrist. Then he took his stuff and started to head towards the train.

"I'm not done with you Sakuno! You're going to be begging on your knees for me to jump into your bed someday," he said. His two companions followed him silently. Sakuno sighed. Then she looked at the uninvited visitor.

"Follow me," she said. The visitor hesitated for a moment but when he saw the Sakuno didn't even look back once, he simply obeyed. Sakuno called a taxi and motioned for the visitor to get in.

"How can I trust that you're not kidnapping me?" he asked. Sakuno just smiled.

"I thought that you'd just like a free ride to the Kaginogizaka Tennis Garden so you wouldn't be late, Echizen-kun. Is there anything wrong with that? If there is, then just consider this as a way of thanking you," she said sweetly. Ryoma was shocked with how this girl he had just met knew so much about him and out of this curiosity, he got into the taxi.

"Kaginogizaka Tennis Garden please," Sakuno said. Then she relaxed herself and looked out the window.

"Echizen Ryoma, 12 years old who was raised in America for 10 years came back to Japan to try out for the Seigaku boys' tennis team. Did I get any detail wrong?" Sakuno asked. Ryoma shook his head. After a while, Ryoma broke the silence.

"Who are you?" he asked. Sakuno laughed.

"I forgot to introduce myself! How impolite of me…Ryuzaki Sakuno, granddaughter of Ryuzaki Sumire, who might just happen to be your future tennis coach," Sakuno answered. Again, Ryoma stared at her. After a while, the taxi stopped.

"We're here, Ryuzaki-san," said the taxi driver. Ryuzaki took out some money and handed it towards him.

"Arigatou, Kaito-san. Keep the change," she said as she got out of the taxi and Ryoma followed. They immediately got greeted by a harsh voice.

"Where have you been, Sakuno?" said the voice. It belonged to Ryuzaki Sumire.

"Eh? I see that you've been come along, Echizen…though I didn't expect you to come with my granddaughter. Anyway, Sakuno, let's go and watch some tennis!" Sumire said as she put an arm around Sakuno's shoulders. Sakuno sighed.

"Obaa-chan, you do know that I'm not going to watch them play right? I'm so happy that I brought a book to read," she said. Ryuzaki Sumire's smiling face immediately cracked.

"Then why did you come to watch?" Ryoma asked. Once again, Sakuno laughed.

"Why else? Because my grandmother asked me too. If she hadn't, I wouldn't even have bothered to come here," Sakuno answered, again with a smile on her face.

"Why wouldn't you? You're the granddaughter of a tennis coach – "Ryoma started but was cut off by Sakuno.

"I don't really think that it's any of your concern but anyway, I'll tell you why: I hate tennis. Anymore questions? No? I'm going now…" she said, leaving Ryoma and Sumire to stare after her.

"Sakuno…" Sumire said with a tint of sadness in her voice. Then she exhaled loudly and turned to face Ryoma.

"You better get going, or else you'll be late," she said as she jogged after Sakuno. Ryoma stared after them and then he adjusted his cap.

"This is how I start off: an unexpected meeting with Ryuzaki Sakuno and Sumire…" he muttered as he walked towards the court.

* * *

**Karupin: Ryoma's cat**

**Kohaku: A good friend of Sakuno's parents.**

**Ryuzaki Sumire: Grandmother of Sakuno and tennis couch of the Seigaku Boys Tennis Team. She tries to do every thing she can to make Sakuno stop hating tennis. She soon realizes that only Ryoma can help her. She's very skilled in tennis even though she's quite old. Later on, she gives Sakuno the tennis racket that Sakuno's parent's made for her.**

* * *

**Samika: So...how did you guys like it?**

**Sakuno: It's hard for me to act...because I like tennis a lot...**

**Samika: I don't know Sakuno-chan...I was just wondering about how the story would go if you really did hate tennis...so I decided to give it a try...**

**Sakuno: Ok...I'll try my best, Sami-chan!**

**Ryoma: Me too...but seriously, why does Sakuno have to be so seductive? Could you make comes changes to that? I don't want people touching her like that!**

**Samika: Hehe...anyway, please read and review to tell me what you think!  
**


	3. Two Explantions, Either One

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Prince of Tennis.**

* * *

_Is she serious? Reading the whole time during a tennis match? _Ryoma thought.

"No, she's not really reading all the time. When she thinks there' something interesting to watch, she'll…what's the word? _Spy, _"a voice said. Ryoma raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder to see a girl around his own age with pigtails leaning against the wall staring at him smiling.

"How'd you know what I was thinking about?' he asked. The girl's smile disappeared as she turned her head to watch Sakuno. Ryoma did the same.

"You were staring at her so confusingly while she was reading a book during such a fascinating tennis match. Anyone would know what you were thinking about. Don't worry though, a lot of people have had the same thoughts," she said without turning her gaze away from Sakuno. Ryoma shoved his hands into his pockets and continued to stare at Sakuno. Sakuno must have sensed that someone was staring at her so she turned her head towards Ryoma. When she saw that he was really staring at her, she smiled, winked at him and then turned back to her book.

"I think she likes you," the girl said.

"Hn, she hates tennis, so why would she like anything or anyone involving tennis?" Ryoma asked. The girl laughed.

"I don't know, Ryoma-sama. There are exceptions. She doesn't hate her grandma or the tennis regulars…or more of one person in the tennis regulars: Fuji-senpai," she replied.

"Shusuke Fuji?"

"Yup, and I have a feeling that you're also going to be categorized as an exceptional," she said, and then she stood up straight and walked towards Sakuno, leaving Ryoma in deep thought.

"Echizen Ryoma!" a voice said. Ryoma turned around to face Ryuzaki Sumire.

"What are you doing, spacing out? It's the last match now, which means it's your turn! Get on the court, now!" Sumire ordered. Ryoma grunted and got up.

_Might as well get used to it…_ he thought. When he got on court, he was surprised to see who his opponent was.

"Well, well, well…if it isn't the kid with a big mouth from this morning. This is getting interesting. Sakuno's even here to watch. Hey! The name's Sasabe! Sure you've heard of me for my famous 'Bullet Serve', right?" the opponent said. Ryoma looked behind his shoulder to glance at Sakuno, only to find her using a leaf to bookmark a page. Then she slammed her book shut and raised her head to look at both of them, again with a smile on her face.

"You're wasting your time, you know? What do you want? Let me guess…a bet? You're going to end up losing like all the others," Sakuno said.

"Well, I'm going to be the first one who WON'T lose. Here's the bet: if I beat this kid, you go out on a date with me," Sasabe said.

"And if I win?" Ryoma asked. He didn't like to be used as some sort of betting tool.

"Why don't you choose, Echizen-kun? It doesn't feel nice to be used as a betting tool, does it? You should have a say in this bet as well," Sakuno answered. Ryoma was beginning to think that this girl could read his mind.

Silence passed through the entire tennis court. Everyone wanted to know what the young newcomer would say. Why? Simply because it was the first time Ryuzaki Sakuno had let others decide the consequence for her in a bet. Sakuno was famous for her bets. She always used bets when guys wanted to ask her out. Up till now, no one had won over Sakuno.

Ryoma raised his hand up to adjust his cap. He was looking on the ground and his shoes.

"If I win," Ryoma raised his head to look at Sakuno. Ryoma's hand came down and shoved into his pocket. Then he turned to face Sasabe.

"You stay away from Ryuzaki," he said as he produced a tennis ball out of his pocket. The crowd gasped. Sasabe snickered.

"Fine by me," he said. Ryoma looked back at Sakuno.

"Very well then," Sakuno said as she flipped back to the page she had bookmarked. She then looked at both Ryoma and Sasabe.

"Let the games, begin!" she said and started 'reading' again.

Ryoma looked at the ball he was bouncing. When he stopped, he shifted his gaze to look at his opponent. Then he jumped and served. Sasabe snickered as he got ready to return the serve.

"I wouldn't be snickering if I were you, Sasabe-kun. That's a pretty powerful serve headed towards you," Sakuno said. Sasabe's eye widened when he realized that Sakuno was right. He was amazed at the amount of power he needed to use to return the serve. His eyes widened even more when he realized that the ball he returned didn't even go over the net. Gasps could be heard, including Sasabe's.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You should've been the one to serve. Here, let's start again," Ryoma said as he tossed a ball to Sasabe. Sasabe smirked. He then sent Ryoma his Bullet Serve.

"You go Sasabe!" Sasabe's friends hooted. Sakuno laughed.

"Impressive, but it's still too slow for Echizen-kun," Sakuno said without looking away from her book.

"Hn. She's right, you're way too slow," Ryoma said as he returned the serve easily. Sasabe gritted his teeth. He ran near the net to return the serve and realized the height difference. He smirked as he jumped up to return the serve.

_Bull's eye_, he thought as he made the ball shoot down.

Ryoma looked up at Sasabe. Then he held his racket as if he were frying pancakes and once again, successfully returned the serve. The ball went high, so high that even Sasabe couldn't reach it.

_Crap! I can't reach it!_ He thought to himself. Then he looked at Ryoma who was standing in front of the net. He smirked.

"Take this you idiot!" Sasabe said as he threw his racket at Ryoma. Ryoma looked up and his eyes widened as he saw the tennis racket flying towards him.

_WHAM!_

Gasps filled the crowd as Ryoma fell onto his knees, using one hand to cover his face and the other to support himself from losing balance.

"AH! Ryoma-sama!" Tomoka exclaimed as she started to run towards him but was stopped by a hand that was blocking and slowly pushing her back and gasped even louder when she saw a rare sight in front of her own eyes – the hand blocking her belonged to the one and only Ryuzaki Sakuno who was actually looking at the match taking place attentively without trying to hide it.

"Sakuno-chan?" Tomoka asked surprisingly. Sakuno just smiled at her.

"You shouldn't go onto court when there's a match going on," Sakuno replied.

"But, Sakuno-chan!" Tomoka protested.

"It's alright, Tomo-chan." Sakuno said gently but firmly. She gave Tomoka a small smile and continued to read. Tomoka looked once more at Sakuno. Then she calmed down and leaned back against the fence.

"Hehe, sorry. I lost my grip," Sasabe said as he picked up his racket.

"You know, Sasabe-kun, there're only two explanations, either one. One: you did that on purpose or second: your grip is weak. But I'm pretty sure you wouldn't do something so stupid to foul yourself, right? So, let's go with a weak grip," Sakuno said. The only difference this time was that her book was closed and she was looking directly at Sasabe, her mouth bent in a small smile but eyes burning with fury.

"Tch. Again, she's right. Your grip is really weak," Ryoma said as he also picked up his racket and got up. There was blood dripping from his forehead down his face. He picked up the tennis ball.

And jumped up.

And served.

This time, Sasabe couldn't even see where the ball had gone. Ryoma served again and he managed to return it but then Ryoma surprised him with a hit upfront. Sasabe screamed and then threw his racket onto the floor.

"I quit!" he yelled and ran away. Sakuno sighed as she put her book back into her bag and took out a handkerchief. Then she walked towards Ryoma whose gaze was still following Sasabe. She brushed his bangs away and pressed the handkerchief onto the wound. Ryoma turned around to look at her, used his free hand to replace Sakuno's and pressed the handkerchief against his head.

"Keep it there for a while. You'll have to wait until the blood stops. Anyway, that was a nice game you put up, Echizen-kun," Sakuno said and smiled.

"You were watching, weren't you?" Ryoma asked.

"Possibly, I guess. See you later," she said. Just as she was about to leave, Ryoma dropped his racket and reached out for Sakuno's wrist. Sakuno turned to look back at him.

"Nani?" she asked.

"Why…why do you hate tennis?" he asked. Sakuno giggled.

"Do you think I would tell you? I already said I hate tennis so why would I like anything or anyone involving tennis?" Sakuno backfired.

"There are exceptions: you don't hate your grandma or Shusuke Fuji," he said. Sakuno's smile slightly straightened.

"Has Tomo-chan been talking to you?" she asked.

"Huh? Dare?" he asked. He followed the direction of Sakuno's pointing finger and was surprised to find that 'Tomo-chan' was the girl with the pigtails that he had talked with earlier.

"Osakada Tomoka-chan, has she been talking to you?" Sakuno asked.

"So what if she has?" Ryoma asked. Sakuno looked at him straight in the eyes and smiled again.

"The reason for why I hate tennis is for me to know and for you to find out. Have fun training with the regulars. Oh, and which class are you in?" Sakuno asked.

"I think 1-2…why?" Ryoma asked confusingly.

"Nothing, just happy I won't be killed by your future fan girls. I'm lucky to not be in the same class as you, or else I wouldn't be able to learn anything except how to scream 'Ryoma-sama' in a fan girlish way. See you when school starts, Echizen-kun," Sakuno said and with a yank, she pulled her wrist out of Ryoma's grasp leaving Ryoma to stare after her.

"She's an interesting person isn't she?" a voice said. Ryoma turned around to face a senpai who had a gentle aura surrounding him,

"And you are?" Ryoma asked. Like Sakuno, the senpai smiled at him.

"I'm sure you've heard of me. I'm Shusuke Fuji, and I am to tell you that practice starts tomorrow after school, from 4:30 to 6:30. See you there," and with that, he left.

* * *

**Osakada Tomoka: Close friend of Sakuno. Unknown to Sakuno, she knows why she hates tennis because of a certain reason(A/U: Not telling you or else I'd be spoiling the climax of the story^_^). She's the leader of Ryoma's fan club and is also very supportive of all the Seigaku tennis regulars. She is constantly seen cheering them on. She usually has to take care of her younger brothers. She knows that Sakuno likes Ryoma and is constantly trying to set them up but also fails each time. She also knows that Fuji and Horio both have a crush on Sakuno.**

* * *

Samika: How'd you like it?

Sakuno: It was hard to act again...I had to restrain myself from running over to Ryoma-kun!

Ryoma: Seriously Samika, why does Sakuno have to have such a dangerous aura around her?

Samika: That's the whole point of this story, Ryoma! I wanted Sakuno to be like that! It's my version so you better zip it! Gosh, you sure do remind me of Kazune!

Kazune: Huh? Samika, what were you saying?

Samika: I was just saying how annoying both you and Ryoma are!

Kazune: What? You think I'm annoying? What did I do?

Ryoma: Dude, I'm with you. What did I do to make to think I'm annoying?

Samika: This is proof. The two of you just keep complaining! Gosh, no wonder Karin was fighting with you again, Kazune. And to think that I was so nice to upload the two main stories that you guys are in.

Sakuno: But Samika-chan, why are you uploading so much so suddenly?

Karin: Yeah, Samika-chan, you didn't tell us.

Samika: Well, that's because since school is starting tomorrow and then I have to be in charge of the dance for swimming gala and sports day so I'm not going to have much time to write. But I promise you Himeka that I'll try to finish chapter 2 by the end of this week.

Himeka: It's alright. Don't rush yourself, Samika-chan. don't worry, we'll take care of Kazune-chan and Ryoma-chan.

Sakuno: Himeka-chan's right, Samika-chan. Just focus on your studies. Leave Ryoma-kun and Kazune-kun to us.

Karin: Kazune-kun, Ryoma-kun, do you have anything to say?

Kazune: Well...

Ryoma: Uh...

Kazune: Sorry about always annoying you...

Ryoma: We promised to try and stop complaining...

Samika:*bursts out laughing8

Kazune and Ryoma:*sweatdrops*

Samika: You guys are all so funny. I haven't laughed like this in a long time...thanks guys!

Kazune: So, are we forgiven?

Samika: Of course you are, silly!

Ryoma: Phew, for a second there, I really thought that she was going to kick us out of the cast!

Samika: Nah, I wouldn't do that. Who else would fit Sakuno better than you? Fuji-senpai? No way! And with Karin? Jin? Don't even think about it! Oh shoot, I need to pack my things!

All: Everyone, please review, whether it's this story or the others. Please just click on the button and type a few words

Himeka: THIS IS A MUST!

Samika: Himeka...


	4. I'll Try

Oh my gosh. I am SO SORRY! I intended to update this all two months ago...but yeah...apparently, my holiday just started yesterday so I stayed up a long time and finished this chapter. I've already done half of chapter 4 as well so...please be patient! Trust me, I know what it feels like when you're left hanging

**I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS**

* * *

Ryoma opened his eyes but quickly shut them again. Then he squinted and used his hand to shade his eyes which were being invaded by piercing light. He stretched his arms out to pull the curtains together, blocking the sunlight. He groaned and blinked a few times. He looked at the ceiling and slowly breathed in and out.

Ryoma scowled and tiredly sat up on bed. He ruffled his hair and rubbed his eyes. Then he stared out the window sleepily. He effortlessly looked over to his clock and his eyes finally widened when he realized what time it was.

_Crap! I'm going to be late!_ Ryoma immediately flung off his blanket and quickly got changed into his new uniform, which he found annoying with all the buttons to deal with.

After ten minutes of meddling with buttons, Ryoma finally stuffed his textbooks and stationary into his bag and gave one last look at his reflection in the mirror before dashing out of his room.

"Ah! Ohayo, Ryo-kun! Would you like some breakfast?" Rinko asked her son while frying a sunny-side egg up. Ryoma grabbed a piece of toast from his plate and held it towards the pan. Rinko smiled and "breaded-up" the egg for Ryoma.

"I'm leaving!" Ryoma said as he ran out of the door.

"Iterashite!" RInko said happily.

* * *

"Sakuno-chan! Ryoma-sama is coming to our school! How can you not be excited at all?" exclaimed Tomoka. Sakuno rolled her eyes and smiled sweetly.

"Tomoka-chan! You've known me for so long! I'm pretty sure you're more aware of the fact that I hate tennis than anyone else is, am I correct?" she said as Tomoka's angry face quickly dissolved and became silent. What more could she say? After all, the cause of Sakuno's parents' death was because of –

"KYA! It's ECHIZEN RYOMA-SAMA!" a series of shrieks and screams from a bunch of exited girls shattered Tomoka's dark thoughts. She and Sakuno both stood at the side of their school's front gate to see Echizen Ryoma be welcomed by his fan girls. Tomoka, of course also squealed as she immediately ran over to the club she had created to greet their idol

"OHAYO! RYOMA-SAMA! WELCOME TO SEIGAKU!" she shouted as she bounced up and down happily. The other members of Ryoma's fan club did the same.  
"Un…thanks…" Ryoma said, obviously used to all the commotion which he thought was absolutely normal. Sakuno laughed at Tomoka's enthusiasm and then proceeded towards the school's main building.

Sakuno slowly breathed in the air around her. How she had missed the presence of her school!

The Seigaku held many precious memories that she could never find herself to forget, and neither would she ever want to forget.

Sakuno stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes. She carefully listened to her surroundings: friends greeting one another, laughter, the young gush of wind and birds chirping. The two corners of her mouth slowly bent into a small smile.

School was one of the few places Sakuno could ever find peace, making it her third favourite place to be at, next to her home. Of course, her first priority would definitely always be the tennis –

"Sakuno-chan!"

Sakuno's eyes shot open when she heard Tomoka's anxious and frightened voice. Sakuno turned around just in time to see Sasabe trying to reach out to her and Ryoma blocking him by standing in front of Sakuno and pointing his own tennis racket at Sasabe.

"Oi. What do you think you're doing?" Ryoma said. Silence engulfed everyone around them. Thousands of pairs of eyes were laid still on the three of them, not even daring to blink. Sasabe scowled.

"What's that gotta do with you, brat?" he questioned Ryoma annoyingly, obviously still not over the fact that this guy who was younger and smaller than him had won him in a tennis match. Ryoma remained emotionless.

"I have very good memory and I'm absolutely sure that you lost in a bet to Ryuzaki. I was part of the bet so of course this has everything to do with me," Ryoma replied calmly, still pointing his racket at Sasabe, not even flinching for a moment. Sasabe glared at Ryoma so hard Sakuno could have sworn she saw his veins starting the burst open.

"Ano…you name…was it…Sakabe-kun? I'm sorry…but unlike Echizen-kun here…I have bad memory…but my bad memory only applies for the names of people I've made bets with. As for what the bets were about… I remember every single little detail like it's been printed on a piece of paper and read aloud. So shall we make a brief run-through of what happened yesterday…Sa – Sanake-kun?" Sakuno asked innocently. Sasabe immediately turned as red as a tomato.

"Hey! The name's SA – SA – BE! And there's no need to go over what happened – " he started, emphasizing every syllable in his name and wanting to stop Sakuno from repeating his failure yesterday, but instead got cut off by her.

"Yesterday morning, I bumped into Sasabe-kun," Sasabe smirked when he heard Sakuno finally get his name right, thinking that Sakuno might reconsider. However, he started to become red with embarrassment when he continued to listen to what Sakuno had to say. "And a little drama rose.

He offered to teach me tennis and started off by showing me how to hold the racket using the Western Style when he was really demonstrating the Eastern style. In comes Echizen-kun and he corrects Sanabe-kun and all that drama ends for a while, until Echizen-kun and Sakate-kun meet again at the tryouts to be become a Seigaku Tennis Regular and just so happen to face each other in the match."

Snickers and giggles could be heard from everywhere around them. People who knew Sakuno personally were well aware of the fact that Sakuno was getting Sasabe's name wrong so he would soon leave them alone. When they saw how humiliated Sasabe looked, they could not help but laugh even louder. Who told him to come and make such a commotion at the Academy? Next to tennis, what Sakuno hated the most was ANYONE who brought trouble or broke the peace at school.

"Right before the match, Satane-kun challenged me to a bet which was if he could beat Echizen-kun in the match they were about to have, I would have to go on a date with him. And the condition if he lost to Echizen-kun was that Sasake-kun would have to stay away from me. This condition was set by Echizen-kun which made sense since it wouldn't have been nice for him to be just used as a betting tool, am I right, everyone?" Sakuno asked as she looked at everyone around her. Nods followed wherever her sight went and Sakuno smiled as a thank you.

"And just as I had predicted…Samate-kun got pissed off because he was simply no match for Echizen-kun's extraordinary tennis skills and gave up halfway through the match. That ended the match, with Echizen-kun claiming his victory, which meant that Salase-kun would have to go with the condition set and stay away from me," Sakuno stopped and turned around to face Sasabe. Then her brows furrowed and it almost looked like she was apologizing to him and about to cry, like she had done something wrong but had no idea where she was at fault. Tomoka stifled a laugh as she witnessed Sasabe gulp when he felt his own face grow warm. Who would be able to keep a relaxed composure when Ryuzaki Sakuno was looking so cute and innocent?

Tomoka quickly scanned her surroundings. Of course, none of the girls seemed to be affected…or were they and just not showing it? Clearly Tomoka could see that Echizen Ryoma was as still as stone, racket still held up and pointing at Sasabe, observing every move Sakuno made. The Seigaku Tennis Regulars who just so happened to pass by after morning practice and stopped to cool down and watch the free show offered were also snickering. Even the team captain, Tezuka was showing a small smile. Tomoka also smiled when the thought of these big guys cornering Sasabe flashed through her mind.

"S-saBAKA-kun…was the c-condition Echizen-kun and I set un-unclear?" Sakuno asked. Tomoka had to laugh out loud at this one and shared a few glances with the smirking tennis regulars who also knew the hidden meaning behind this sentence: the real show was just about to start.

Sakuno had always taught her to act different from usual in front of others since it might save your life someday. But it was the total opposite for Sakuno. While the Sakuno everyone knew was the _dangerous and daring girl who liked to play with fire_, she was actually a shy and timid girl who only acted liked this to protect herself. But it did not seem work this way for her.

Ryuzaki Sakuno's inborn shy nature was what always saved her.

This was because people who did not know of this side of Sakuno were always shocked and without ever realizing they were being fooled all along would end up stalking Sakuno and soon get caught by the Seigaku Tennis Regulars and then have a _friendly_ conversation with them before being dragged to meet the principle of the school they went to and suspended for a week.

"YES! Ah…I mean NO! Ah, don't cry Sakuno! T-this…this isn't like you! I guess…I'll just take my leave. J-just…DON'T CRY!" Sasabe said as he quickly turned on his heels and ran away. Sakuno sighed and looked at her watch.

"Tomo-chan! Hurry! We're going to be late!" Sakuno said. Tomoka immediately ran towards Sakuno and together, they walked towards the main building. Just as Ryoma was about to call out to Sakuno, she stopped in her tracks. Ryoma watched as she said something that caught Tomoka off guard.

Tomoka glanced at Ryoma and he raised an eyebrow.

_They wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would they?_ He asked himself.

Tomoka looked back at Sakuno and said something which made Sakuno laugh. Sakuno replied gently, like she was assuring Tomoka about something the latter wasn't so sure about. Finally, Tomoka shrugged, as if giving in and walked towards Ryoma together with Sakuno.

"Echizen-kun? Do you know where your classroom is?" Sakuno asked with a smile on her face.

_The more I look at that smile, the more fake I think it is…_ Ryoma thought.

"Huh? Oh, not really…" he said. Tomoka and Sakuno exchanged a glance. Then Tomoka sucked in her breath and exhaled loudly.

"We'll take you there…and if you'd like, we'll take you on a tour around the school during lunch break. We'll find you so you won't get lost anywhere," she said. Even if she didn't try to show it, Ryoma could sense she was worried.

"I wouldn't be bothering you?" Ryoma asked, obviously directing the question to Sakuno.

"Of course not! We don't have anything to do yet since it's just the first week so we're still pretty free! So, we'll see you later then, Echizen-kun?" Sakuno asked.

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes. Then, we'll find you at lunch! See you," Sakuno said and then turned around to walk towards the school.

"Ryoma-sama…" Tomoka said. Ryoma shifted his glance to the girl with pig-tails.

"Umm…it's rare for Sakuno to do something for you…I think she actually might have taken a liking for you…so…please, for everyone's sake, do you think…you could help Sakuno?" she asked pleadingly.

"What do you mean, help her? Isn't she perfectly fine? And why do you think she likes me? She obviously uses that sarcastic attitude when talking to me just as she does with everyone else," Ryoma replied calmly. Tomoka sighed.

"You'll understand soon…Sakuno…she's known as the "Fallen Angel" in our school. You'll find out about it sometime later. But please! Promise me you'll help her! You're the only one who can!" Tomoka said.

"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno called out. Tomoka turned around and gave Sakuno a wave.

"Please…I'm begging you…I don't want to see her fall down more than she already has…" Tomoka begged. Ryoma was still confused but at the same time, he was curious. Why would Sakuno be called the "Fallen Angel"?

"Fine. "

Tomoka's eyes lit up.

"Thank you!" she said and with that, she left him alone, standing in the middle of the school ground, still holding his racket and with many questions unanswered.

"At least…I'll try…" he whispered.

* * *

**Samika: FINALLY! I updated!**

**Sakuno: Thanks for the hard work, Samika-chan!**

**Samika: *asleep***

**Everyone: *sweat drops***

**Tomoka: She's so tired she forgot to say the most important line...**

**Fuji: Then I guess we should just help Samika-chan:)**

**Everyone: Please read and review! We'd really appreciate it^^**


	5. Fallen Angel

**Haha, sorry for the long wait! I'll try to update as frequent as I can but I'll be pretty busy this week since I'm headed to Bei Jing in two days...sumimasen**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS.**

* * *

Ryoma sighed heavily in the back window seat, staring into the sky as Tomoka's words rang in his head over and over again.

_Why in the world would she be considered as a Fallen Angel? _He thought multiple times. Due to his frustration, he narrowed his eyes and his sight slowly followed a bird that happened to pass by. The bird had beautiful wings, pure white with hints of baby blue at the tips. Under the sun light, Ryoma thought they shimmered so brightly that they resembled those of an angel's.

Ryoma's eyes softened and decided to turn his head around to start pretending he was actually listening to what the teacher was saying but suddenly, something about the bird caught his eye: its wings were drooping and it looked like it was having a hard time flying, like it was painful to move its wings. Ryoma's eyes widened and for a moment, he had no idea what he was doing or thinking at all.

Ryoma suddenly stood up from his seat, surprising everyone.

"Echizen-kun? Is something the matter?" the English teacher asked. Before he could say anything else, Ryoma jumped out of the window, gaining gasps and squeals from his classmates. Ryoma grabbed the tree branch closest to him quickly before he fell down and hung on there a bit before doing a flip and landing on a stronger and thicker one. He steadied himself and quickly scanned his surroundings in search of the bird.

_Where did it go? _He thought desperately.

"Echizen-kun! Please stop whatever you're doing! You're going to get hurt!" the teacher pleaded. His cry caught the attention of other classes and soon, it seemed as though everyone was looking out the windows and staring at Ryoma in awe.

Ryoma simply ignored them all and proceeded in looking for the bird. Though he actually had no idea why he was working so hard to save the bird, he just felt that if he didn't, he'd be losing a crucial part of the puzzle he was trying to solve…not to mention, he had no idea what "puzzle" he was trying to solve. Ryoma took in a deep breath and carefully climbed higher up the tree, hoping to get a better view in hopes of finding the bird.

* * *

"Osakada-san, could you please read page 56 – 58?" the teacher asked. Tomoka slowly stood up and flipped the pages through her book. She cleared her throat when she suddenly heard a faint but anxious cry.

"Echizen-kun! Please stop whatever you're doing! You're going to get hurt!"Tomoka didn't even have the time to comprehend what had happened when she heard one of her classmates gasp.

"Sensei, outside!" she said as she pointed out the window. Tomoka and the rest of her classmates and their teacher immediately followed the direction of her finger. Soon, many gasps were heard, including Tomoka's.

The only girl who hadn't budged was none other than Ryuzaki Sakuno, but she had raised an eyebrow and side-glanced at all the commotion that had been caused. She immediately covered her ears when she heard a number of shrieks and screams from her classmates, clearly directed to one person and one person only: Echizen Ryoma. She shut her eyes in frustration, trying hard to shut out the noise as well, but it didn't help at all.

Sakuno opened her eyes and lowered her hands. She slowly stood up and walked towards a frantic Tomoka who jumped up when she felt Sakuno's finger tap her shoulder, startling them both. Tomoka calmed down when she found that it was just Sakuno and not some molester or ghost and smiled to which Sakuno returned.

"Ano…what's going on?"Sakuno asked as Tomoka scooted over to give some space for Sakuno to squeeze in and find out what was happening.

"See? There's Ryoma-sama over there, climbing up the tree," Tomoka said while looking at Sakuno the whole time, not daring to blink even once and watching her every facial expression.

At first, Sakuno tried to remain emotionless, but she couldn't stop her eyes from widening. Tomoka let out a small smile when she saw her best friend bite her lip, an act she hadn't seen her do in a long time, and her eyes cloud up with worry.

_So…she does care about him…_Tomoka thought and tried to think about how Sakuno would answer her when she would question her about what she felt towards Ryoma in the near future.

_Maybe it'll be like last time…what did she say again? Oh right…__**something interesting caught my eyes and arose my curiosity, nothing else. Don't get the wrong idea, Tomo-chan!**_

_Is it the same for Ryoma-sama, Sakuno-chan?_

"Ne ne, Sakuno-chan! I wanna make a bet with you!" Romoka said. Sakuno turned around to greet Tomoka with a face full of shock. Everyone in the classroom also stopped whatever they were doing and grew dead quiet. Tomoka let out a small laugh.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not lesbian! Anyway, here's the bet: if Ryoma-sama manages to accomplish whatever he's trying to do and comes down the tree safely, I want you to show him a real smile. A smile meaning you're glad he's safe," Tomoka said, he eyes full of mischief. But that didn't have any effect on Sakuno apparently.

"And if he doesn't, you'll stop trying to make me open up to him?" Sakuno asked. Tomoka nodded, completely determined, as if she knew she was going to win for sure. But Tomoka had made a dangerous bet and she knew so herself: what if Ryoma didn't succeed? Tomoka grit her teeth and threw those negative thoughts away.

Sakuno's eyes softened and she resumed to looking out the window smiling.

"It's a deal."

* * *

Ryoma slowly stood up on the highest branch he could get to, holding onto the trunk just to make sure he wouldn't fall. He looked around himself several times before he once again spotted the angelic bird. Ryoma walked towards and went as far as the branch let him, he was almost falling off the tip and he admit he was pretty scared himself despite holding onto one of the smaller branches above him.

Ryoma stretched out his hand and made a gesture that welcomed the bird. The bird looked at him and for a moment, their eyes interlocked. It seemed to understand that Ryoma wanted to help it and meant no harm. Slowly and unsteadily, the bird tried its best to flap its wings and fly towards Ryoma's welcoming hand. As it came closer, Ryoma noticed that one of the wings was bleeding and a little crooked – it was broken.

Ryoma finally understood why the bird couldn't fly properly: it had a broken wing, and if Ryoma wouldn't be able to get a hold of the bird in time, it would fall.

_Osakada said that Ryuzaki was a Fallen Angel…then…could it be that …Ryuzaki has a broken wing, something from the past?_

Suddenly, the bird let out a small but sharp chirp. Ryoma's eyes widened as he saw the bird beat its wings harder, trying to keep itself up in the air long enough to reach Ryoma.

_C'mon…just a little more…_ Ryoma pleaded the bird. Then, everything just happened to fast.

The bird lost control and started to fall down, despite the fact that it was still moving its wings desperately. It braced itself for its fall…but it never felt it.

Screams and shouts could be heard. Anxiousness filled the school.

Ryoma had jumped off the branch and caught the bird gently with one hand and while falling from a huge height, he looked up, reached out his other hand and caught a branch just before he was going to fall flat onto the ground.

He was safe.

* * *

Inside Sakuno's classroom, everyone breathed out a sigh of relief, even Sakuno, when she saw that Ryoma was safe. They all watched attentively as he let go of the branch and landed gently on the ground with a soft "thud". Applauses and hoorays could be heard…not excluding shrieks and screams from his fans.

Ryoma's success also meant something else: Sakuno's loss.

For the first time in lifetime, Ryuzaki Sakuno had lost in a bet.

"Sakuno-chan…I won," Tomoka said quietly. Sakuno looked back at Tomoka and smiled.

"I know," she said. She turned to look out the window again and really smile at Ryoma but her classmate beat her to it.

"Oi! Echizen! Lucky you! Sakuno was looking at you the whole time and because of a bet, she has to give you a real smile!" He yelled, obviously jealous. Ryoma, who had been carefully stroking the bird looked up and was surprised to see Sakuno looking at him from her class window. But what surprised him most was Sakuno was actually smiling – as in REALLY smiling…and for once, Ryoma knew it wasn't a fake one. Her eyes showed that she was relieved nothing had happened to him and Ryoma couldn't help but smirk.

"Way to go, Echizen-kun," she congratulated.

"Hn." He replied and he lowered his head to hide a genuine smile.

_Ryuzaki…you have no idea how interesting you are…my Fallen Angel. I won't let you fall anymore…I'm going to save you just like I did with this bird. I'm going to be the one to mend your broken wing, so make sure nobody beats me to it._

Then he turned around and walked towards the school's main door, raising his hand to say good-bye without looking back, leaving Sakuno to stare and smile after him.

_Seems like we have an interesting one here…_she thought as she gave him one last look and then turned around to go back to her seat.

* * *

"Ryoma-sama that was awesome!" said a fan girl from Ryoma's class as he stepped back into his classroom. Ryoma hn-ed as a reply. Then he laid his head down on his desk to take a nap, not even bothering to listening to the teacher's pleads.

After what seemed to be ages, the bell finally rang.

"Alright, class dismissed!" the teacher said. Ryoma automatically stood up, said good-bye and bowed with the rest of the students. Then he grabbed some change from his bag before heading out the classroom. When he slid open the classroom door, he was surprised to see Tomoka already waiting for him. Tomoka smiled at him.

"Let's go! Sakuno-chan's waiting for us on the roof!" she said as she headed towards the stairs that led to the roof. Ryoma looked after her and silently followed.

Walking up to the roof surprisingly took a pretty long time. During the entire walk, silence was almost their companion the whole time, until Tomoka broke the silence with a question Ryoma hadn't thought about at all.

"Ryoma-sama..." Tomoka said as she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Ryoma stopped as well and glanced over at her.

"Nani?" He asked, jingling the change in his pocket. Tomoka sucked in her breath and then turned around to look at Ryoma with a hard face.

"Why did you agree to help Sakuno-chan? I mean…do you know her or something? Like…is she someone important to you?" she asked.

"And so even if I don't know her, I'm not allowed to help her?" he asked, finding Tomoka's question amusing and something good to laugh about, though he didn't when he saw that Tomoka was serious. He ran a finger through his hair and then looked out the single window he could find in the stairway to the roof.

"I love tennis…more like I worship it. It just doesn't feel right when someone near me hates tennis as much as I love it and so that's why I wanna show Ryuzaki there's nothing she can really hate about tennis. It's an amazing sport and I'm gonna find out what's the fault Ryuzaki finds in it, help her correct her way of thinking and make her love tennis, as much as I do," Ryoma said. Then, something thousands and millions of girls would've wanted to see happened: Echizen Ryoma let out a smile – a one in a million Kodak moment.

Tomoka was shocked. Although all the tennis regulars had the same type of love for tennis like Ryoma did, Tomoka had never felt any determination radiate from them. Slowly, Tomoka's face softened as she let out a gentle smile.

_Ryoma-sama, I was right when I asked you to help Sakuno-chan. I have a feeling; you'll succeed…_she thought.

Ryoma turned around to face and was confused to find Tomoka smiling gently towards him. He ignored the thought that she might be getting the wrong idea.

"But…" Ryoma said and Tomoka immediately tensed. He wouldn't be changing his mind now would he?

"When I was in the airport, going back to America about 8 years ago…there was this girl...I just can't forget about her. And for some reason, Ryuzaki keeps on reminding me of her," Ryoma said. Tomoka raised an eyebrow.

_So, he does know her?_

"I was headed to the airport with my parents and I would be going alone to my relatives first before my old man and mom came to join me. My mom prepared a name tag for me but at the last minute, I bumped into this girl who was smiling and laughing with her parents. When we collided, my name tag fell off and she stepped on it, breaking it as well. She was really sorry and she sorta made another name tag for me – she took the paper that had my name on it out of my original name tag and used one of her clips to clip it onto my jacket," Ryoma explained.

"But…what was so special about her that made you keep remembering her all these years?" Tomoka asked.

"It was her smile. After she clipped my name tag on, she noticed that I was carrying a tennis racket. Then she asked me if I liked to play tennis a lot. I didn't say anything and she simply smiled brightly at me. Then she told me to become a great player so that one day, she would see me on TV and be proud that she had helped me," Ryoma said. Then he snorted.

"But, I never got to ask for her name. Besides, it could never be Ryuzaki. That girl 8 years ago had smiled from her heart, not like Ryuzaki who only smiles to deal with others. Moreover, I could tell that that girl had a passion for tennis, like it held an important place in her heart as it did for me. For Ryuzaki, well, you know her better than me – she HATES tennis so the possibility of the two of them being the same person is 10% or even less," Ryoma said. Tomoka eyes widened.

_Should I tell him that…ten years ago, Sakuno-chan didn't hate tennis and had a great passion for it as well?_ She thought to herself. Silence passed through and Ryoma broke it a while later by jingling the change in his pocket again.

"Oi. Osakada. Where can I get some Ponta?" he asked. Tomoka blinked. Then she chuckled.

"Oh! Up on the roof! C'mon, let's go before Sakuno-chan starts worrying!" she said. Then she continued up the stairs.

"Finally! I was beginning to think you guys had been kidnapped or something!" Sakuno exclaimed when she saw Tomoka and Ryoma finally come through the door leading to the roof. Ryoma stopped in his tracks when he saw that Sakuno had already bought a can of Ponta and beside it, there was a hamburger and fries.

"Ah! Gomen, Echizen-kun! I wasn't sure about what you liked to eat so I just got you a Ponta and a burger combo…I hope you're ok with that!" she said. Ryoma grunted as he sat down. He took a bite of the burger Sakuno had bought for him and decided that he liked it. He looked up to see Sakuno smiling at him.

"Do you like it?" She asked.

"Hn."

"I'm glad."

Tomoka gulped as she looked from Sakuno to Ryoma and back. Then she took a small bite of her own sushi.

"Well, anyway, Echizen-kun, you know where your classroom and the roof is now. So, our classroom is right next to yours and the cafeteria…" Sakuno started to tell Ryoma where he could find everything. The whole time, Ryoma either grunted or "hn-ed" as an answer. Other than that, he just ate his lunch and after he finished his burger, he lay down to look up at the sky. Around twenty minutes later, Sakuno was finally finished.

"Well, I've already finished telling you everything about the facilities in our school. Shall we go on a tour now?" she asked as she got up. Ryoma complied by getting up and throwing his finished bottle of Ponta into the trash can. Then he followed the two girls to the library.

Sakuno took Ryoma to the library and then showed him the cafeteria and the gym. She then told him where he could find the principle, the teachers and even where her classroom would be.

"There. We're finished!" she said. Ryoma stopped in his tracks and Tomoka nearly bumped into him. Sakuno turned around to look at Ryoma, confused.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"What about the tennis courts? You showed me the pool, the basketball court and the rest of the other facilities that other clubs or teams would use but not tennis?" he asked. Sakuno laughed.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. It's just that I hardly talk about tennis I nearly forgot it even existed. But now that you mention it…I really have forgotten where the tennis courts for practice in our school are. Tomo-chan? Would you find showing Echizen-kun? You always go there," Sakuno said.

"H-huh? Ah, sure…Ryoma-sama, this way please. But Sakuno-chan, why don't you come with us? Fuji-senpai and the others might be practicing. You do know that if you go, it'll boost their confidence a lot!" Tomoka said hopefully. Ryoma raised an eyebrow: what did Fuji-senpai and the tennis regulars all have to do with his? Sakuno just sighed.

"So is that what you were talking about to Fuji-senpai today, Tomo-chan?" Sakuno asked.

"N-no! He was just asking…asking if…"

"Asking if I would stop by? And then you answered saying you would try to persuade me to go? Tomo-chan, please! Stop it! You know me better than anyone here so you're the one who knows that stopping is the best choice!" Sakuno said.

"Best choice of what? Ryuzaki, just why do you hate tennis?" Ryoma asked. Sakuno glared at him. Tomoka looked around nervously as she found that people had started to crowd around them.

"Ano…Ryoma-sama…it's alright…I can just show you where it is…" she said quietly.

"I'm not going until I can knock some sense into Ryuzaki. There's nothing you can hate about tennis and I won't stop until she gives me a reasonable answer why such hatred exists in this world," Ryoma said determinedly. Sakuno snorted.

"Like I said the first time you asked me: why I hate tennis is for me to know and for you to find out," Sakuno said and then she turned on her heels to head back to her classroom.

"What if I tell you I want to help you mend your broken wing?" Ryoma said. Sakuno stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't like to repeat myself." Sakuno laughed.

"And why would I have a broken wing?"

"Because you're just like the bird I saved this morning – you have a broken wing which stops you from flying and because you can't fly properly, you're an angel who's falling. And I'm going to stop you from falling any further but tell me: how am I supposed to when you don't even try yourself?" Ryoma asked. Sakuno narrowed her eyes. Tomoka had the feeling that Sakuno was breaking down inside. The way Ryoma talked about tennis and the way he described the situation Sakuno was in must've reminded her about her parents.

Tomoka blinked when she saw Sakuno blink back a tear right before it was about to roll down her cheek. Was Sakuno restraining herself from crying? Tomoka looked at Ryoma. What kind of an influence did Echizen Ryoma have on Sakuno? The last time Tomoka had seen Sakuno cry was 10 years ago and yet, right here right now, Ryoma had made Sakuno want to cry only on the second day they had met each other?

Sakuno shook her shoulders and blinked a few times before smiling at Ryoma.

_Well, she sure can do a good job a recovering…_Tomoka thought.

"And what if I don't want to be helped? I'm perfectly fine right now," Sakuno said like Ryoma's words had no effect at all. Ryoma remained emotionless. He closed his eyes and stuffed one of his hands into his pocket. Then he opened his eyes to look at Sakuno straight in the eye.

"Guess I'll just have to play my trump." He simply said and then he smirked as walked towards Sakuno. Sakuno stiffened as she backed away from Ryoma who just kept walking towards her until he had her pinned against the wall and their faces were only inches apart.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno, I challenge you to a bet."

* * *

**Samika: Finally...finished...**

**Sakuno: Wah! R-ryoma-kun challenges me t-to a bet? What am I supposed to do?**

**Samika: Don't worry. You'll find out very soon..but...**

**Ryoma: But what?**

**Samika: I won't upload the next chapter until at least 3 people tell me what they thought about this chapter. I need to know what I can do to improve!**

**Fuji: That makes sense...**

**Samika: So readers, please? Just click the little button down there that's asking for attention and tell me your thoughts? I'll also work hard to upload whenever I can! See you:)**


	6. Motivation

**OMG! I know that I'm a really bad writer for not uploading so long...but I just moved from Hong Kong to Canada so yeah...I had to deal with all the school transfering and finally, I get to go to school today.**

**Just a quick question: anyone living in Mississauga? Anyone going to John Fraser Secondary School? If you are able to answer me in either question, PM me...I don't wanna end up like strangers with my dear readers!**

**Thank you for waiting ever so patiently! Love you all:D  
Oh, and thanks for all the reviews everyone^^**

**~Samika **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PoT.**

* * *

Time seemed to have stopped, with almost every pair of eyes looking at Ryoma and Sakuno. They all had a feeling that Ryoma might actually have a chance at winning…but what caught their attention was: had the tennis prodigy Echizen Ryoma also fallen for Ryuzaki Sakuno like many others had?

Ryoma smirked as he looked at Sakuno's shocked expression.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not challenging you because I wanna ask you out like the others wanted. My motive is to get you to tell me why you hate tennis. I admit that you're special but I don't have the time to think about romantic relationships and neither do I want to," Ryoma said.

Tomoka's eyes clouded with worry as she watched Sakuno grit her teeth and narrow her eyes. But behind all her anger she was just displaying to disguise herself on the outside, Tomoka knew too well that Sakuno's inward feelings could only be shown through her eyes, and right now, Ryuzaki Sakuno was _hurt, _hurt like she had just been slapped across her face. All this talk about tennis was too much for her. Any minute now, Tomoka thought that Sakuno might start tearing up.

But then again, being Ryuzaki Sakuno as she was, recovering wasn't much of a problem. Sakuno closed her eyes and opened them again to look at Ryoma straight in the eyes and smiled as though she had changed into a completely different person. This sudden change was what caught Echizen Ryoma off guard, and wiped his smirk off his face. What made Echizen Ryoma unpin Sakuno was when Sakuno shortened the distance between them until their noses were touching each other and he had to back away. It was now Sakuno's turn to smirk at Ryoma.

"I accept."

"Hn."

"So…what do we bet on?" Ryoma smirked.

"You decide." Sakuno raised an eyebrow at Ryoma and snorted.

"My, my…aren't we getting cocky here? Out of all my other betters, you have the most confidence. You sure you want me to choose?" Sakuno asked. Ryoma remained smirking, not even having the thought of choosing himself come across his mind. Sakuno searched Ryoma's eyes and tried to discover maybe even a speck of fright or fear. To her surprise, all she found was determination.

_He's dead serious…_she thought. Sakuno exhaled and mentally massaged her nerves before she lost it and went on rampage in front of everyone. Then she gave Ryoma her sweetest smile.

"Then let's do something easy," she said and smirked, eyes full of mischief before continuing. "I'll ask you any ten questions,"

"Sure."

"But all these questions are related to one single topic: music. If you can get at least seven of them correct, you win…but if you only get six or less, I win, " Sakuno stated as she savoured the surprised look Ryoma had on his face.

_Oh no…_Tomoka thought._ With Sakuno-chan's talent, there's no way Ryoma-sama could win! _

Well, of course? Who, in the whole Seigaku (except for Ryoma) didn't know that Ryuzaki Sakuno was a piano prodigy and was as talented as Ryoma was in tennis…ten questions asked by Sakuno on music? How would Ryoma EVER win?

To everyone's surprise, Ryoma just smirked.

"Bring it."

"Ready?" Sakuno questioned.

"More than ever," Ryoma answered.

"First question: how many families of instruments are there and what are there names?" Sakuno asked as she smirked. _How would guy like him be able to answer something like this? _She thought proudly, never doubting whether her assumptions were right or not. Yet, within the next minute, Ryuzaki Sakuno tasted the bitterness of defeat for the second time today.

"Some say there are four and some say there are five: string, percussion, woodwind, brass and sometimes, keyboard is also considered another family of instruments," Ryoma said smoothly, not even flinching once. Sakuno fought hard to keep her surprise suppressed, as she had to admit that she had underestimated the musical knowledge of the guy standing right in front of her. But she quickly regained her calm posture: after all, she had been going easy on him.

Tomoka got even more worried when she saw Sakuno's eyes full of mischief.

_Uh-oh…this isn't looking good…_she thought but did nothing since she knew that no one could interfere with Sakuno and her bets. All these years, Tomoka could only stand by one side and look at Sakuno ruin herself as she'd break down piece by piece every day because of a huge mistake Tomoka had made in the past. But was Tomoka the one to blame? They were so young back then! How would Tomoka ever have known that _she _herself would be the one to ruin the life of her best friend whom she loved more than herself? So…it wasn't entirely her fault, right?

Tomoka pinched and mentally slapped herself back into reality and the truth that was definite: she was a _murderer _and nothing could change the fact that she was also the wrecker of her best friend's life. And there was nothing she could do to save Sakuno except for having faith in Echizen Ryoma and believing that he really could change Sakuno.

"Second question: what is a string quartet?" Sakuno asked cunningly. She was sure the tennis prodigy wouldn't know the answer to this one. But still, he surprised her.

"A string quartet…can have two meanings: one, it's sort of a mini orchestra that consists of two violins, one viola and one cello. Two, it's a music piece written especially for this group of instruments to play," Ryoma replied coolly. Sakuno nearly screamed when Ryoma gave her the correct answer. She balled her fists so hard her knuckles were white.

"Third question: give me three composers from the 20th century and from each of their composers, one of their own pieces," Sakuno said, almost shouting. Her eyes were narrowed as she stared at Ryoma to which he returned.

"Don't you think you're going a little too hard on me?" he asked, grinning. Sakuno smiled.

"We never said I couldn't ask questions like these…we said that as long as the questions were about music, they'd be fine. Now hurry up and answer the question," Sakuno replied. Ryoma simply sighed.

"First composer: Debussy, who composed the piano piece "Dream", as known as "Rêverie" in French. Second composer: Stravinsky, who composed the orchestral ballet piece "Firebird". And the third composer…hmm…" Ryoma thought as he looked around him. Sakuno smirked.

_Is he stuck? _She thought happily, smiling even brighter. Unluckily, her smile just got wiped off the second Ryoma smirked at her.

"Ah…I think it was…Rachmaninoff? And his piece was…Prelude in C Sharp Minor…right?" Ryoma asked, not even trying to hide his smirk when he saw Sakuno flushed.

_He's having fun seeing me get all beat…well! I'm not going to give it to him! _Sakuno thought as she quickly came up with another question, trying to throw the tennis prodigy off guard, but to no avail.

"Right…so number four…Why is the treble clef also called the G clef?"

"That's simple: the spiral on one of the ends of the treble clef revolves around the G note line in treble clef, which gives it the name, "G" clef," Ryoma said. Sakuno mentally screamed – no one had ever been able to answer her that question before.

"Fine, then for number five, I'll just ask you a similar one: why's the bass clef also called the F clef?"

"Your questions seem to get even easier by the second: it's because the two dots of the bass clef are on either side of the F line in the bass clef, also giving it the name, "F" clef," Ryoma said. Sakuno studied Ryoma's facial expression. She couldn't read whether he was amused or was he having a hard time. Just where did all this music knowledge come from? She closed her eyes and she felt them start to hurt from all the intense stares she had been continuously giving Ryoma. Damn, he had wiped off so many smiles from her face today!

But…just who knew that the next question would finally bring a permanent smile to her face?

"Where were we? Oh right, number 6…when Beethoven was young, he always wasted no time in practicing the piano. When his fingers started to hurt because he practiced too much, what did he do to help relax the pain?" Sakuno asked, finally coming up with the idea of testing him on little bits and pieces of habits some famous composers had.

Silence sang loudly as Ryoma and Sakuno stood there, facing each other, neither blinking.

Ryoma didn't show it but he didn't know the answer to this one…what kind of a method would a person who practices piano 24/7 use to soothe his fingers? Ryoma thought about what he would do if his fingers hurt from practicing tennis too long from when he was a kid…

"Ummm…put it into warm water?" Ryoma replied, unsure, yet he knew his answer was wrong when he saw Sakuno smiled.

"Nah…quite the opposite. He'd place his fingers into a bucket of ice water which he'd put beside his piano," Sakuno replied cheerfully.

"Hn."

"Question number 7: define this German expression – Mässig, mit Ausdruck," Sakuno ordered.

"How am I supposed to answer that?" Ryoma snapped back.

"Do not answer my questions with another question," Sakuno replied. Ryoma stared and stared. He sighed when he realized his staring would get him nowhere. He mentally went through everything he knew about German but couldn't come across anything that was even similar to the expression Sakuno asked him to define. He mentally sighed in defeat.

_I'll just have to go with this one…_

"Moderate…with angst?" he guessed. He didn't miss the flinch Sakuno tried not to show.

"Close…but not quite…it should've been with expression. Nice try though," Sakuno said.

"So do I get a half point?"

"Nope. Now, onto number 8: what do pieces that are called "Arabesques" usually refer to?" Sakuno started to have the feeling that she would eventually be the winner of this bet, as she always was.

"Arabic music?" Ryoma replied, not even thinking because he knew he wouldn't be able to win this time; but he was planning to come back next time, completely prepared to defeat Ryuzaki Sakuno at any cost.

"Nice try…but not even close. Arabesques actually have nothing to do Arab music. It is, however, usually a piano piece consisting of melodies that describe the atmosphere of Arabic architecture," Sakuno smiled in her victory again.

"Well, guess what? We're on number 9 already! Alright…what are the differences between mano destra and mano sinistra?" Sakuno asked, wanting to let the Echizen ONLY have six correct, therefore asking him the easiest question she could think of.

"One means right hand and the other means left hand," Ryoma answered coolly. He had a feeling that he was being played by Sakuno but he didn't flinch when he saw Sakuno smile sweetly. He had come unprepared but he would try again next time and again and again until Sakuno would admit defeat. Ryoma didn't know where all this motivation to help Sakuno came from but he just had a surging urge to bring her into the world of tennis.

"Finally, last but not least…the last question: what's the difference between an appoggiatura and an acciaccatura? And don't tell me they have different spellings. I want to know the musical difference," Sakuno asked and stated her condition before Ryoma could answer the easiest thing he could think of. Ryoma frowned slight, just _slightly, _but Sakuno didn't miss it and smiled even brighter.

"One's slower than the other?" Ryoma answered. Sakuno let out a laugh.

"Did you get these two mixed with andante and adagio? Nope, appoggiatura and acciaccatura are both ornaments, and the difference between the two is an acciaccatura is more of a short appoggiatura. There, that marks it all. You got six correct, but I said the condition was seven…well, I guess that means you lost. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be headed back to class before I get late now! See ya!" Sakuno asked as she started to head towards the school building. Murmurs arose in the crowd but slowly quieted down as they started to leave and head back to their classrooms as well. However, the tennis prodigy once again, successfully caught their attention.

Ryoma ran towards the direction Sakuno had walked in, caught her by the arm and spun her around, wide-eyed. Tomoka dropped her bento and the crowd stopped in their tracks, sensing that the show wasn't over yet.

"Ryuzaki," Ryoma called out her name softly. It wasn't gentle, but it wasn't his usual rough tone either. Sakuno flinched as the tone Ryoma used reminded her of her father. What he did next shocked her even more.

Ryoma reached into his pocket, took out a tennis ball and put it into Sakuno's hand.

"What's the meaning of this?" Sakuno asked, remembering this was an action her father had once done to her.

"It's a way of thanking you I guess, for at least letting me place a bet. Keep it, I have so many at home anyways," Ryoma said. Sakuno looked at the ball, then at Ryoma and then back. She smiled and closed her eyes. Then she shook off Ryoma's arm and headed towards her classroom again, at which she halted to a stop when she heard him speak again.

"There's also another meaning to it! I won't be giving up and I'm going to come again. When I win, you have to give me a prize, just like I did this time!" Ryoma yelled out. Sakuno just stood there, her back facing him and most of the crowd. Then she slowly turned around.

"I'll be looking forward to how you do next time then…Ryoma-kun," she said. Ryoma's eyes slightly widened when he saw Sakuno's eyes glistening – she was crying.

Sakuno smiled again, and with that, she ran towards her classroom, ignoring Tomoka's calling. Tomoka stopped in her tracks and turned around to face her idol.

"Ryoma-sama, arigato! You've opened her heart a little already…I know you can do this! Thank you for everything you've done!" Tomoka said and just like Sakuno did, she pivoted and ran towards her classroom.

Ryoma stuffed his hands into his pocket again and looked up into the sky. He smiled to himself, knowing what Tomoka said had been true…since Sakuno addressed him by his first name. Still smiling, he proceeded to his own classroom.

_I've never heard her call any other guy by their first name…perhaps I'm the first?_

Out in the shadows, a tall figure stood, watching the boy. He had witnessed the entire show and he wasn't happy. No, he wasn't…and he wasn't about to hand Sakuno over to some arrogant brat either.

* * *

**Samika: I'm so sorry if there were a bunch of mistakes...but I didn't edit it...I have to be headed to school in like 45 minutes but I really wanted to update because I haven't done so like in a whole month and a half! I'm so sorry everyone**

**Tomoka: Don't sweat it...at least you uploaded, right?**

**Sakuno: And the most important thing is that Samika-chan, you finally get to go to school, right?**

**Samika: Ugh...I already missed out three weeks...**

**Tomoka: Don't worry! You'll be able to catch up! Minna-san, remember to read and review!:D**


	7. Worthy

**Edited: April 7th, 2013.**

**HEY GUYS! I know it's still pretty short but I'm trying to figure out the relationship between Sakuno and tennis and everything else. I have a rough idea of how I want the story to go but it's still pretty foggy. **

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Prince of Tennis.**

* * *

Sakuno put her pen down as the bell rang and her teacher addressed them good-bye. She sat down again and started to slowly pack her books into her bag. While putting her pencil case inside, her hand came in contact with something round, hard, yet had a fuzzy outer layer wrapped around it.

It was the gift that Ryoma had given her – the tennis ball. Within half a second, Sakuno was once again entranced in one of her precious memories.

~Flashback memories~

_A delicious smell floated around in the air. It belonged to the cooking of Sakuno's mother. She smiled as she looked at the beautiful sight of lunch placed in front of her on the table – potato salad, ham and cheese sandwiches, macaroni and her daughter's favourite brownies. Homemade and self-decorated, just how Sakuno liked them._

_"Mama!" Sakuno shrieked. Sakuno's mother's head shot up, alarmed at the call, but immediately broke out into a smile when she saw her husband carrying her daughter down like a bag of tissue paper rolls._

_"Mama! Papa scared me again!" Sakuno wailed as she ran over to her mother as soon as her father put her down. Sakuno's father let out a heart-warming laugh. _

_"I just thought I'd save you the trouble of walking down the stories and help you fly down to the beautiful land of Mama's Cooking! Sakuno, you can't possibly blame Papa for that!" he said. He laughed even more when Sakuno puffed her cheeks at her father. _

_"Hmmmmm…seems like I'm still not forgiven. Alright then! How about I give you a little gift?"_

_"What is it?"_

_"Close your eyes and hold out your hands," he responded as he reached into his pocket. _

_Sakuno obediently shut her eyes and held her hands out eagerly, cupped together, her fingers itching to grasp whatever her gift was going to be. For the first few seconds, she could only feel a blanket of air wrapped around her fingers. Then, she felt it. A hard sphere that was protected with a fuzzy layer landed into her hands. _

_Sakuno opened her eyes and looked into her hands. _

_There it was. _

_An ordinary tennis ball._

_Except, it had a little cartoon resembling Sakuno drawn onto it. Sakuno carefully rotated the sphere and found that it said _anata wa aisa rete imasu.

You are loved.

_Sakuno smiled and gave her father a huge hug._

_"Ahhhhhh am I finally forgiven?" her father asked. Sakuno looked up at her father._

_"Yup. You're forgiven!" She said as she beamed at her father. The father and daughter exchanged a smile and then proceeded to sitting at the table for their lunch."_

~Flashback ends~

Sakuno took deep breaths as she felt the slight sting in her eyes because of the moisture that wished to break free.

Why was she trying so hard not too cry?

She could cry. Everyone had already left the classroom and Tomoka had left school an hour earlier for a dentist's appointment. She was free to put her guard down and just cry like she wanted to every day. Every hour. Every minute. Every second.

Another second and Sakuno actually would've cried, if it weren't for the fact that she heard the faint sound of the classroom door sliding. She quickly blinked back her tears and put on her mask again, as she turned around, all ready to greet the cause of the noise.

It was Shusuke Fuji.

"Gomene, Sakuno-chan. Did I interrupt something?" Fuji asked with obvious worry in his tone. Sakuno broke out into a gentle smile.

"Nope, not at all Fuji-sempai. What are you doing here? Is there something I can do to help?" Sakuno asked while packing the remainders of her bag.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to come and watch our first tennis practice of the year, Sakuno-chan," Fuji asked. Sakuno sighed as she tucked her chair under the table.

"Fuji-sempai, are you going to ask me every day like last year and the year before and the year before that?"

"It's worth a shot."

"You know you're just wasting your time, Fuji-sempai."

"Sakuno-chan, you trust me, don't you?"

"Fuji-sempai, you fully know that I think of you as family. You're the older brother I never had. Of course I trust you."

"Then are you ever going to tell me what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sakuno-chan. You know what I mean. 8 years ago, you suddenly bore a deep hatred towards tennis, a sport you whole family loved. Why is that?"

Silence answered him.

For Sakuno, the classroom seemed to grow smaller and smaller by the second. Why did Fuji-sempai have to bring it up? Sakuno knew she wouldn't be able to bear much any longer.

"I've got quite a bit of homework today, Fuji-sempai. See you tomorrow!" she said, a smile plastered onto her face. Then she walked out of the classroom calmly, pulling a Sakuno like she always did.

Fuji just stood there motionless.

_Sakuno-chan…am I not worthy enough to be allowed into the depths of your heart?_

* * *

Sakuno walked slowly and steadily on the grass towards her way home. As she passed the tennis courts, she couldn't help but steal a glance at the practices going on.

They had just finished jogging around the court and were now doing their stretching. Although the members came from many different backgrounds – and Sakuno knew this very well since she was good friends with them all, despite her hate for something they loved – Sakuno noticed they all had something in common: if not shown by a bright smile, their eyes emitted a unique happiness that was only shown when they were playing tennis, the hobby they loved.

"To profess in something, is to give it your all, even giving up something else for it if necessary," Sakuno said to herself.

Sakuno understood their feelings towards tennis. It was how she felt towards piano and music. She loved it. She loved how she got lost in her music when she was playing, enchanted whenever you listened to music…if there was anything she gave her all in, it would be piano.

But Sakuno knew there was an urge in her to pick up a tennis racket and give it a try again.

And play tennis like she did 8 years ago.

Sakuno reached into her pocket and felt her fingers touch the tennis ball again. She was about to bring it out and look at it. Heck, she felt like she was even ready to just walk into the tennis court and watch them practice in public, maybe even play a little.

But something stopped her.

It was that feeling again.

The feeling that she would never get rid of.

Loneliness.

Tennis always made her feel lonely.

Sakuno sighed and slowly turned around to keep walking home.

_I'm not worthy to pick up a racket ever again. It's as though tennis and I have a mutual hatred towards each other…if not, what happened 8 years ago, would never have happened._

* * *

Ryoma's eyes silently followed Sakuno as she left. He was surprised she hadn't noticed he had been watching her.

_Something's definitely on her mind if she's so out of it._

He adjusted his cap and cleared his thoughts while he picked up his racket and got ready to practice.

The last thing he thought about was the eternal sadness he seemed to catch in Sakuno's eyes every time he looked closely.

* * *

Did you guys like it? I sure hope you did! And thank you so much for all the reviews! You all have NO IDEA how much they mean to me!

Also, I plan on starting up another FanFic. Like most of my others, it's going to be a rewrite of another anime series I really like - Inuyasha. I'm going to follow the anime timeline, and add in the movies as well. So review and tell me what you guys think about Fallen Angel and this new, possible FanFic! :D

Signing off,

Samika~


End file.
